LEMAY

Inventory of Historic Buildings

Phase II 1993

Prepared by Esley Hamilton and Chun-Hsi Wong for the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation

under a grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

The physical boundaries defined as Lemay are the same for Phase II of this inventory as they were for Phase I. For purposes of this survey, Lemay is bounded on the north by the River Des Peres and the City of St. Louis, on the east by the Mississippi River, on the south by Interstate 255 (popularly called 270), and on the west by Interstate 55. This definition, while obviously determined by the recently constructed interstate highway system, corresponds fairly well with historical perception of the area, which was the old Carondelet Commons. It was bounded on the west by Morganford Road and its prolongation Union Road and on the south by the south edge of Jefferson Barracks. The surrounding communities were and are Affton and Concord to the west, Mattese and Melville to the southwest, and Oakville to the south. It also corresponds to the district currently being studied to determine the feasibility of incorporation.

The one physical feature of Lemay that has come into sharper focus since Phase I is the area situated low enough to be subject to flooding. This is not the area facing the Mississipi River, which is generally high ground, but the area near the mouth of the River Des Peres, along that normally negligible stream's south bank. Levees constructed along the channelized river there proved inadequate to the record height and duration of the Flood of 1993.

The color map accompanying this report was prepared by St. Louis County to assess the effects of the flood. It identifies every parcel of land that sustained damage. The actual line of high water is indicated in red, but where only a portion of a parcel was inundated, the entire parcel is colored in. The color codes indicate degrees of damage. Buildings in areas colored orange generally had water in the basement only. Buildings in areas colored blue had moderate damage, while buildings in areas colored yellow were most seriously damaged. The county plans a complete buyout of the area colored yellow, plus acquisition of at least some properties in the areas colored blue. All the businesses on both sides of Lemay Ferry (both blue and yellow) would be relocated to the adjacent blocks southwest of the flood area.

These proposed plans would obliterate one of the most important historic resources in the Lemay area, the business district. This district was recommended for National Register listing in Phase I. It includes the following properties that have been included in either phase of this inventory:

8442-44 Alabama 8500 Alabama 107 Lemay Ferry 109 Lemay Ferry 113 Lemay Ferry 114 Lemay Ferry 115 Lemay Ferry 117 Lemay Ferry 119 Lemay Ferry 125 Lemay Ferry 130-132 Lemay Ferry 138-142 Lemay Ferry

Limmer Bakery Hoefer Building Lemp Lemay Tavern Building Arnold Grocery Building Lemay Ferry Bank Lemay Ferry Hardware Abel Building Poslosky's Department Store Poslosky's Variety Store Fendler-DeBasio Building house and store Fendler Auto Building

1898, 1908-21 1909 c. 1910 c. 1910 1909 & 1922 c. 1923 c. 1910 1902 & 1929 1915 1927 c. 1897 c. 1920

Of these properties, only two were actually damaged to the point where federal flood insurance regulations call for their removal. These were the former Lemay Ferry Bank at 113 Lemay Ferry Road and the Lemay Ferry Hardware across the street at 114 Lemay Ferry. The terracotta facade of the former Lemay Ferry Bank was the most significant individual feature of this district.

RESEARCH METHODS

The properties in this inventory were identified in 1990 as potentially significant but were not studied further at that time. The research techniques that were employed were similar to those used in Phase I. Emphasis was placed on primary records, including deeds, probate records, and county directories. An effort was made to follow up on sources identified as part of the research for an exhibition, "Historic Lemay," that was organized by the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation at Jefferson Barracks Park in 1986. These included a variety of newspaper clippings, one (the Odd Fellows Cemetery) dating back as far as 1881, that were contributed by Lemay residents at that time. Reeords of Jefferson Barracks Park, itself, proved helpful in dating the North Gate. An effort was made to follow up on potentially significant churches that had been initially dated in the 1992 countywide survey of churches. Properties within the boundaries of Jefferson Barracks but omitted from the 1971 National Register nomination were also included.

Five schools that were identified as potentially significant in Phase I were subsequently inventoried in the 1991 survey, "Schools Built Before 1941":

Hancock Junior High Hancock School No. 1 Hancock School No. 2 Luxemburg School St. John School #70

9405-23 South Broadway at Gentry 9415 Gentry at Orient 8808 South Grand 242 Dammert at Fannie 3701 Will Road

These addresses are included in the comprehensive listing of Lemay inventory forms that follows this report.

One source that was omitted in the first phase of this inventory was consulted here. The accuracy of William Alden's It Happened in Lemay (first edition 1958) has been questioned by previous researchers, including John Lindenbusch and Ed Williams. The book, a compilation of articles originally published in the Naborhood Link News, does not mention many specific buildings in Lemay, but one that is illustrated is 9438 South Broadway, which is identified there as the home of General Winfield Scott Hancock, U. S. presidential candidate in 1880. For this reason, this house was researched in some depth.

As with the first phase of this inventory, forms have been arranged according to the street addresses of the properties, alphabetically and numerically. Maps for most properties are taken from the records of the St. Louis County Department of Revenue. They show property lines and subdivision outlines as well as building outlines and of ten have other data about dimensions and ownership. Where these have not been available, aerial photographs have been used.

Inventory forms have been numbered on item one according to St. Louis County's locator system. This nine-digit system is based on a coordinated grid that covers the entire county and gives each parcel of land a unique identification. Most county records are keyed to this system, and it is hoped that inclusion of it on these inventory forms will facilitate further research. All photographic negatives are in the files of the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation. Roll and frame numbers have been included on the inventory forms under item three. The roll numbers are assigned by the photo processing companies. Roll and frame numbers have also been marked on the backs of the inventory photos.

Aside from the business district, most of the yellow area is the old Payne Tract, a late-nineteenth-century residential subdivision. Nearly all buildings in this area had been substantially altered. One historically significant property included in Phase I is the Christian Risch House at 248 Military Road, at the corner of Fannie Avenue. Built about 1882, the house was later known as the Anderli Dairy. The old dairy building behind the house was completely submerged in the flood, and the house was damaged to 55% of its value.

Heine Meine Field, the historic baseball club at 153 Lemay Ferry Road (Number 1472 on the color map), was estimated to be damaged to only 15% of its value, but in practice this means that most of the bleachers and fences will have to be replaced. The Lemay Baseball Association, owner of Heine Meine Field, stands to benefit from the proposed clearance of the Lemay flood plain, however, because recreational facilities would be greatly expanded.

Prior to the flood, only one of the properties included in Phase I of this survey had been demolished in the intervening three years, so far as is known. That was the Margaretha Meyer Tavern at 9969 South Broadway. It was purchased by the St. Louis County Department of Parks and Recreation with the intention of making it a visitors center for Jefferson Barracks Park, but it proved to have serious structural deficiencies that made restoration prohibitively expensive.

The buildings included in the Schools Survey have not fared well, either. The Hancock School District has sold Hancock School No. 1 and Hancock School No. 2, and their future is in doubt. The former Hancock Junior High School has also been offered for sale but has not found a buyer. It has been vandalized, and possibilities for reuse are growing dimmer.

HISTORY

Lemay's history goes back to the eighteenth century, when it was the part of the outlying property controlled by the French settlement of Carondelet, founded in 1767 by Clement Delor. Lemay was the portion of the Carondelet Common located south of the River Des Peres. Carondelet gave the vast site of Jefferson Barracks to the United States government in 1826. The rest of the commons was surveyed in 1837 and 1838 into square lots of about 32 acres each, and settlement began at that time. One of the earliest subdivisions in those lots into city streets occurred in 1858, when Samuel W. Forder laid out lots in the wedge formed by Lemay Ferry Road and Military Road (then called Jefferson Barracks Road). One of the hopes of this survey was the identification of buildings in Lemay dating from before the Civil War. but no such properties were discovered. The earliest building in this phase of the survey was the William Felthorst House at 246 Wachtel in Forder's Subdivision, but it could not be dated much before 1870. The Louis Buehler House at 805 Zeiss in the 1859 subdivision of the Sigerson Nursery, probably was built a few years later. Forder's own house at 2225 Telegraph Road dates to about 1865. Risch's Grove, now Cusanelli's Restaurant at 705 Lemay Ferry Road, is often said to date to the eighteenth century, but in fact it cannot be dated before 1874, and in contrast to the Buehler House, its historic features have been totally obliterated by remodeling. The only earlier institutions in the area are some of the cemeteries along Lemay Ferry Road: the Mount Olive Cemetery (3906 Mt. Olive Road) from 1849, the Oakdale Cemetery (3900 Mt. Olive Road) from 1854, and St. Trinity Cemetery (2000 Lemay Ferry Road) from 1863.

The heyday of Lemay, as was noted in Phase I, began about 1890 and continued until World War I. During this time, most of the present subdivisions were laid out and most of the characteristic small brick houses were built, designed along lines being developed at the same time north of the River Des Peres in the City of St. Louis (which had annexed Carondelet in 1870). The compact subdivision in the 500 block of Jeffords Avenue and the scattered row of houses along Weiss Avenue are good examples of this type of construction, and also of the design of the subdivisions themselves, which were laid out with a minimum of what we now call infrastructure: grading, sidewalks, curbs, and gutters. The discontinuous nature of many of these new streets encouraged a plethora of street names, which were not regularized (requiring the abandonment of many historic names) until the 1930s.

Commerce and cultural institutions followed this residential development by a few years. The earliest buildings of the present business district at the north end of Lemay Ferry Road, as well as the original Catholic, Lutheran, and Evangelical churches all dated from about 1910. A few churches of other denominations were added in later years, but none compares to St. Andrew's Catholic or Gethsemane Lutheran in size or architectural quality.

Probably the most significant institution in Lemay built after this initial period of growth is, of all things, the Heine Meine Field at 153 Lemay Ferry. Originally an open area on low ground where an old oxbow of Gravois Creek had been, the baseball fields began to be developed by the Lemay Baseball Association immediately after World War II. The field is named for Henry W. Meine, Jr., a major-league baseball player who also ran a family-owned tavern nearby. The actual facilities - the stands and fieldhouses - are less significant than the site itself, situated improbably close to the main business street and lacking any street frontage of its own, and the size and importance to the community of the association that calls the field home.

RECOMM:ENDA TIO NS

Two properties in this survey have strong claims to listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is automatically eligible, because national cemeteries have been designated by Congress as primary memorials to the military history of the United States. The age of a national cemetery is not a factor in judging eligibility. Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery dates back to 1826, and it received its national designation by presidential order in 1866, according to one history.

The Jefferson Barracks Veterans Hospital, begun in 1923, is one of the most imposing institutional complexes in St. Louis County. The original buildings, erected through 1939, were laid out in Beaux Arts fashion around a central mall, situated at the top of a hilly and wooded site overlooking the Mississippi River. The landscaping of the central area of the hospital has been degraded by the construction of fences and parking lots, but the buildings themselves and the surrounding setting still create the framework for a beautiful composition. The many buildings added to the hospital after 1952 have all been situated to the west, away from the original complex. The hospital is less likely to be eligible on the basis of its medical significance, since it was not the primary veterans facility in the St. Louis area, and since most of the buildings have been radically changed in function over the years.

The effects of the Flood of 1993, described in a preceding section of this report, were probably fatal to the chances for National Register listing of the Lemay business district. Nevertheless, the absence of historic preservation review in post-flood planning is regretable. This seems to be primarily an administrative lapse on the part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which should be addressed by the State Historic Preservation Officer.

Aside from this current problem, however, preservation of the historic resources of Lemay still depends more on local initiative than on federal action, and here St. Louis County is open to criticism. The only protection afforded historic buildings is the LPA or Landmark and Preservation Area, a zoning designation for which the owner must petition, paying a filing fee renging from three hundred dollars upward. Little wonder then, that no such designations have been made in the Lemay area. The county needs an ordinance like those of the most history-minded communities in the state. Such an ordinance should enable the Historic Buildings Commission (already established by statute) to designate historic landmarks and districts with or without the consent of the owners, to regulate alterations, and to prohibit demolition. The 1991 state enabling act gives the county clear authority to pass such legislation, but no efforts have yet been made in that direction.

Lemay is fortunate in having two local institutions that have taken an active interest in local history, the Naborhood Link News and Jefferson Barracks Park. As a result, more photos and documents have been saved here than is typical in county neighborhoods. More should be done, however. The park should designate a particular part of its collections for local history and more actively collect relevant materials. More study is needed in the sequence of development of the area, particularly to clarify the interactions of the small number of landowning families in this process. A continuing effort to educate the public to Lemay's history is also needed; the most important tool in an effective preservation effort is an informed electorate.

The prospect of incorporation presents many opportunities for Lemay. A new municipality will find its identity in the rich history of the area; this history should be embraced and not shunned, as efforts to put aside the name "Lemay" suggest might happen. A new municipality (which might appropriately be called Luxemburg rather than Mehlville) will have the opportunity to adopt meaningful preservation controls at the outset and to make preservation an active part of its planning policy. It is hoped that the present inventory will provide a useful tool in that effort.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

LEMAY HISTORIC INVENTORY PHASE TWO

103A Arlee 9438 South Broadway 9905 South Broadway 9950 South Broadway South Broadway at Grant 9824 Clyde 111 West Felton 109 East Holden 111 East Holden 225 Hom 1 Jefferson Drive 519-525 Jeffords 130-132 Lemay Ferry 153 Lemay Ferry 700-702 Lemay Ferry 704 Lemay Ferry 708 Lemay Ferry 729 Lemay Ferry 9813 Luna 101 Memorial Drive 1601 Telegraph Road 2833 Telegraph Road 235 Wachtel 246 Wachtel 841 Wachtel 203 Weiss 211 Weiss 311 Weiss 321 Weiss 323 Weiss 325 Weiss 805 Zeiss

Charles Kugler House John C. Mann House Annie Cook House Odd Fellows' Cemetery Jefferson Barracks North Gate Calvary Apostolic Tabernacle Longwood Baptist Tabernacle Paul Fritzemeyer House Jacob Arnhold House Charles Good House Jefferson Barracks Hospital subdivision house and store Heine Meine Field Lemay Merchandise Co. Building commercial building Zimmerman Building Jacob He us House "The Peetz House" Jefferson Barracks Natl. Cemetery Point Breeze Baptist Church former Peace Lutheran Church Oscar Robi ts ch House William Felthorst House Walz 's Comer Danz-Hammel Rental House John Schober House Andreas Meininger House Riekemann-Suellentrop House John Kettenbach House Anthony Rosso House Louis Buehler House

7103G/5

c. 1900 c. 1880 c. 1896 1881 1938-39 1937 1936 c. 1905 c. 1905 c. 1902 1923 1907-08 c. 1897 c. 1947 c. 1906-08 c. 1909 c. 1926-27 1899 1906-07 1826 1933, 1952 1946 c. 1900 c. 1870 c. 1921 c. 1898 c. 1898 c. 1895 c. 1900 c. 1905 c. 1903 after 1870

COMPREHENSIVE LISTING LEMAY SURVEYS:

Street

8442-44 Alabama 8500 Alabama 103A Arlee 9405 South Broadway 9438 South Broadway 9853-55 S. Broadway 9905 South Broadway 9950 South Broadway 9969 S. Broadway South Broadway at Grant 510 Buckley Rd. 9824 Clyde 242 Dammert at Fannie 9415 Gentry at Orient 8808 South Grand 111 West Felton 323 Hoffmeister Ave. 405 Hoffmeister Ave. 109 East Holden 111 East Holden 225 Horn 1 Jeff er son Drive 519-525 Jeffords 107 Lemay Ferry 109 Lemay Ferry 113 Lemay Ferry 114 Lemay Ferry 115 Lemay Ferry 117 Lemay Ferry 119 Lemay Ferry 125 Lemay Ferry 130-132 Lemay Ferry 138-42 Lemay Ferry 153 Lemay Ferry 250 Lemay Ferry 264 Lemay Ferry 274 Lemay Ferry 318 Lemay Ferry 700-702 Lemay Ferry 704 Lemay Ferry 705 Lemay Ferry 708 Lemay Ferry 720 Lemay Ferry 729 Lemay Ferry 742-46 Lemay Ferry

PHASE I, 1990 SCHOOLS, 1991 PHASE IT, 1993

Limmer Bakery Hoefer Building Charles Kugler House Hancock Junior High John C. Mann House Frederick Mitchell Store Annie Cook House Odd Fellows' Cemetery Margaretha Meyer Tavern Jefferson Barracks North Gate Frederick Niemeier House Calvary Apostolic Tabernacle Luxemburg School Hancock School No. 1 Hancock School No. 2 Longwood Baptist Tabernacle St. Andrew's Church Bethesda Evangelical Church Paul Fritzemeyer House Jacob Arnhold House Charles Good House Jefferson Barracks Hospital subdivision Lemp Lemay Tavern Building Arnold Grocery Building Lemay Ferry Bank Lemay Ferry Hardware Abel Building Poslosky's Department Store Poslosky's Variety Store Fendler-DeBasio Building house and store Fendler Auto Building Heine Meine Field Peiffer-Heintz Building Andreas Schug House Henry Sommer Service Station Lemay Theatre Lemay Merchandise Co. Building commercial building Risch's Grove - Cusanelli's Zimmerman Building Henry Meyer Store Jacob He us House Fendler Building

1898, 1908-21 1909 c. 1900 1925 c. 1880 1908-09 c. 1896 1881 1893 1938-39 1897 1937 c. 1885 1903, 1925 1913 1936 1930 1910 c. 1905 c. 1905 c. 1902 1923 1907-08 c. 1910 c. 1910 1909 & 1922 c. 1923 c. 1910 1902 & 1929 1915 1927 c. 1897 c. 1920 c. 1947 1893 & 1917 c. 1898 c. 1929 1927 & 1932 c. 1906-08 c. 1909 1874 & 1892 c. 1926-27 c. 1905 1899 1928

COMPREHENSIVE LISTING LEMAY SURVEYS: PHASE I, SCHOOLS, PHASE II page two

7103G

750 Lemay Ferry 756 Lemay Ferry 758 Lemay Ferry 765-69 Lemay Ferry 780 Lemay Ferry 1001 Lemay Ferry 1116 Lemay Ferry 1215 Lemay Ferry 1219 Lemay Ferry 1800 Lemay Ferry 2000 Lemay Ferry 2211 Lemay Ferry 3100 Lemay Ferry 9813 Luna 101 Memorial Drive 248 Military Road 3900 Mt. Olive Rd. 3906 Mt. Olive Rd. 3801 Paule Ave. 320 E. Ripa 610-24 W. Ripa 623 W. Ripa 501 Sappington Brks. 601 Sappington Brks. 1601 Telegraph Road 1806-08 Telegraph Rd. 1900 Telegraph Rd. 2225 Telegraph Rd. 2761 Telegraph Rd. 2761 Telegraph Rd. 2833 Telegraph Road 235 Wachtel 246 Wachtel 841 Wachtel 203 Weiss 210 Weiss 211 Weiss 311 Weiss 321 Weiss 323 Weiss 325 Weiss 3701 Will Road 805 Zeiss

Caroline Guth House N aert-Schaef fer House Leo N aert House Gethsemane Lutheran Church John Meister Saloon Frederick Kettler House Massman Store Mt. Hope Cemetery Mt. Hope Memorial Park Lawn Cemetery St. Trinity Cemetery George Hausherr House Mehlville High School "The Peetz House" Jefferson Barracks Natl. Cemetery Christian Risch House Oakdale Cemetery Mt. Olive Cemetery Franziska Hug House Sancta Maria in Ripa St. Martin of Tours School Forder Elementary School Henry Niemeier House John Dietrich Niemeier House Point Breeze Baptist Church Andrew Kuehn Building Trunko Building Forder House and Outbuildings St. Lukes Methodist Church Frohlich's Longview Farm former Peace Lutheran Church Oscar Robi ts ch House William Felthorst House Walz' s Corner Danz-Hammel Rental House Schiller Hall John Schober House Andreas Meininger House Riekemann-Suellentrop House John Kettenbach House Anthony Rosso House St. John School #70 Louis Buehler House

c. 1907 c. 1908 c. 1909 1921 c. 1905 c. 1901 1895 & 1938 1927 1930 1912 1863 1905 1939 1906-07 1826 c. 1882 1854 1849 c. 1870 1895-97 1939-40 1934 c. 1900 1909 1933, 1952 c. 1922 1938 c. 1865 moved 1945 1930 1946 c. 1900 c. 1870 c. 1921 c. 1898 1909 c. 1898 c. 1895 c. 1900 c. 1905 c. 1903 1922 after 1870